OUR FATHERS GAVE SO MUCH: WE SHOULD NOT GIVE IT AWAY

By Domenick J. Maglio PHD   New Traditionalist

June 6th was the 65th anniversary of the Battle of Normandy. It is hard to imagine the courage and willpower displayed by our fathers and grandfathers in this near suicide mission. Almost defying reality our men arrived in high seas weighed down by their equipment and had to rush the beach under a hail of enemy fire.  Our rangers scaled 100-foot sheer cliffs with bullets raining down from Germans shooting at point blank range. Our soldier’s incredible determination preserved the freedom of western civilization.

Our forefathers throughout history have been extraordinary role models. From the beginning, Americans sacrificed their family assets and even lives to establish the nation. Our brave military men recently defied the majority in congress to bring safety and stability to Iraq after the political elites proclaimed we were defeated. The contentious Iraq issue was muted.

Our own fathers sacrificed through their disciplined lifestyle making America and the world a better place for the next generation. On the other hand, our present generation is silently robbing our grandchildren’s money to live “high on the hog.” It is no surprise the “me generation” majority in power are allowing this mortgaging of our treasury to continue their self-absorbed life style.

On this Father’s Day, the rape of our children and grandchildren’s future should horrify fathers of all ages. The greatest federal debt in our history keeps on growing with little protest. It is the father’s duty to protect his family and to give his children the same opportunities he was given by his father and forefathers.

The scandalous, ever increasing national give-away perhaps directly benefit our individual lives, but will have to be paid by our children. The American dream that has been an integral part of our lives will become the American nightmare for our offspring.

Obama speaks in eloquent generalities about our economy but he and his predecessor, George Bush, have sold our financial future to the obscene tune of 9 trillion dollars to foreign investors, especially China. Our national defense and counter intelligence budgets have been placed on the back burner while financial and insurance corporations and the United States auto industry have been practically nationalized with US tax dollars. The secure bondholders of GM and Chrysler were robbed or their assets and the UAW members were granted billions of dollars amounting to significant ownership in GMC.

The “transformational politics” have turned out to be the old special interest paybacks. Congress acquiesces to demands of the White House without following the sworn constitutional obligations. Czars are appointed to bypass congressional oversight responsibility. Outrageous spending bills are approved without the required deliberate legislative debate or even the reading of the bills. The press is paralyzed in celebrity adulation from asking any questions of obvious inconsistent statements or blatant errors and lies not to shatter the momentum towards a utopian world vision.

The majority of Americans know our constitutional federal government is not functioning correctly as it has in the past. All our present luckiest and most selfish generation can do is complain to family and friends about our fears for the present or future retirement. The slightest inconvenience to our lifestyle or time is rejected as too much of a burden.

Unlike past generations we are not at a point where we have to risk our lives and assets. We just have to spend some money and effort to motivate our congressmen to do their duty or lose their jobs. Through calling, emails and visiting our congressional representatives we can energize them to do the right thing. Our opportunity will come to go into the streets for a peaceful assembly of citizens to send the message: “enough is enough.”

It is unconscionable to allow our national government to sell our country to the highest bidder. We should not give our nation away after so many of our ancestors worked so hard to create and maintain it. Either we do our duty as citizens in the greatest country on earth or we will lose our freedom and demean the great sacrifices of our fathers and grandfathers.

Auctioning off the future of our children and grandchildren to an out-of-control “nanny state” in order to meet our selfish needs will make us the worst, most ungrateful generation in US history.

On this Father’s Day we owe it to our children, grandchildren and ourselves to leave a legacy of which we can be proud.  By standing up to do the right thing we can preserve the America, which was handed to us by our forefathers. Our children deserve no less.

Dr. Maglio is the author of Invasion Within and Essential Parenting.  He is a psychotherapist and the owner/director of Wider Horizons School.

Visit: www.drmaglio.com.

DISMANTLING THE CONSTITUTION BY NOT FOLLOWING IT

By Domenick J. Maglio PhD   Neo Traditionalist

“From the nature of man we may be sure that those who have power in their hands… will always when they can… increase it.” George Mason 1787

It is indisputable that all segments of government in the USA are bloating. Our national debt alone is $10 trillion. This is more debt than has been accumulated by all past presidents put together. We are told only government not the free market can solve this crisis. It was congress’s overspending and meddling in the banking industry by dictating the exponential growth of sub prime loans and its coziness with international corporate CEOs that got us into this mess in the first place. Congress has abdicated its constitutional power of the purse strings and presidents have been implicit in this fiasco.

Presidents are expanding their power not defending the constitution. The executive branch has even taken over the American auto industry and financial corporations, has appointed a “czar” for every almost issue and has increased executive orders that skirt the legislative process. Who knows what other executive tentacles are ready to poison or strangle other parts of our capitalist system.

The Supreme Court is not adhering to our constitution. Some Supreme Court justices are resorting to using international law to justify their decisions not the law and the constitution of America. The transnational movement (One World government) places pressure on the Untied States to accept international agreements that would make our constitution null and void.

The lack of following the constitution is causing growth in our government and shrinkage in our freedom. The intrusion of government into our daily lives has been astonishing. Without accounting for all the astronomical increases in our national debt, the 50% of Americans who pay taxes work until May before completing the obligation to the IRS. Anyone improving his “castle” has to pay exorbitant permitting fees, then be afraid that government will take his home for no other reason than to increase local tax revenue under a distortion of eminent domain.

The monstrous Homeland Security decisions are a case study of large bureaucracies limiting our freedoms. Citizens traveling by air are put through time consuming antics, such as putting only 3 ounce bottles into a zip top bag, remove shoes, belts and be “wanded” by security even if they are 80 year-old cripples. Travelers have to arrive three hours before an international flight. Should there be delays in processing, even through no fault of the passenger, they will automatically be stopped from boading that flight by the state department’s computer. The airline cannot process any tickets later than one hour before the flight because the State Department’s computers shut the process down. The State Department, located in Washington, DC, has the bureaucratic audacity to make a blanket decision at every airport in America without consideration for extenuating circumstances on the ground.

Big Brother’s shadow intrudes into daily life as government expands.

Former President Bush was ignorant about a compassionate and efficient big government. It does not better solve societal problems it causes more of them. The more people look to government to resolve their problems the more government will regulate and absorb the freedom of the people.

Our founders knew first hand that to maintain individual freedom government had to be held in check. Our founding fathers were worldly and well read men. They lived through the horrors of the tyrannical kingdom of George III and carefully studied philosophers and governments of the past to glean the best formula to organize a nation. They agreed citizens had natural and inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These rights were not granted by the rulers but endowed by our creator. These men wanted freedom for the individual not a government, to take their property and use it as their own awarding hoodlums that oppress moral citizens. Our constitution restrains our national government from robbing our freedom.

The founders built in checks and balances to force the three branches of government, the legislature, executive and judicial branches to share and counteract each other’s powers. The seven articles spelled out in concise and readable language that our constitution specifically limits these powers. By imposing these limits on a national government it should prevent the expansion and abuse of government into every aspect of our lives. There was such a desire to remain free, the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution. Again it instructed the national government what it could not do to citizens.

The constitution of the United States is the oldest constitution still in practice. The lack of government schools teaching civics and law schools pushing an evolving and living constitution have made the sacred document practically a dead one to our youth.  It must be resuscitated and revitalized to save the exceptionalism of America.

Our citizens must accept more responsibility for problems not ask government for handouts. Every time government enters the door problems are compounded and motivation robbed. We The People are the force behind that which has made America great. Government is directed by the people not the people directed by it. When power grabbing, parasitic politicians tell the people what to do things go haywire.

The Constitution is the only thing between decay, chaos, tyranny and us. We need to respect this document by knowing and teaching it to our family and friends. Most importantly We the People must study the voting record of our representatives to insure they are following the Constitution of the United States that they have sworn to uphold.

Dr. Maglio is the author of Invasion Within and Essential Parenting.  He is a psychotherapist and the owner/director of Wider Horizons School.

Visit: www.drmaglio.com.

A FREE REPUBLIC DEPENDS ON CITIZENS BEARING ARMS

By Domenick J. Maglio PhD, Neo Traditionalist

Almost every time a gun is used in a homicide, a chorus of special interests calls for gun control. These calls happened after the shootings at University of Texas in 1966 and in Columbine, Colorado in 1999 and more recently at Virginia Tech University where a student rampaged through the campus killing 33.  There was an organized outcry at Virginia Tech for banning guns. This was farcical since Virginia Tech, like most college campuses, was already a gun free zone.

On March 22, 2009, a prison parolee and felon, 26-year-old Lovelle Mixon, shot and killed four police officers in Oakland, California. The officers were upstanding citizens leaving behind families. The incident was predictably followed by a call for banning guns. Even if California had total gun control laws it would not have prevented the killing of the four officers. Felons already are banned from acquiring weapons.

Felons are antisocial beings who do not follow laws. Not surprisingly, when they want a gun they obtain it illegally. Criminals use the underworld not legitimate businesses to obtain guns. The Cato Institute has noted that since 1978, when the Washington, D.C. gun ban went into effect, violent crimes rose 55%.  The same phenomenon has been reported in Australia in1996, in England in 1997 and the Canadian 2003 gun bans. Preventing citizens from having guns increased violent incidents.

Disarming law-abiding citizens has more consequences than increased violence by criminals. It allows governments to more easily impose a totalitarian state. Defenseless populations are easily intimidated, rounded up, imprisoned or exterminated. In 1938 Germany passed gun control leaving the Nazis to round up with impunity and kill millions of people. In 1929 the Soviet Union established gun control eliminating 20 million of Stalin’s opposition in order for him to impose his transformational vision on the people of the Soviet Union. In 1935, China took control of the people’s ability to bear arms; Guatemala did this in 1964, Uganda in 1971 and Cambodia in 1965.

The same pattern of a government disarming law abiding citizens then intimidating and oppressing them with a show of force is as tempting to elements of today’s government as it has been throughout history. The removal of weapons from the hands of free men opens the doors of the power hungry political elite of any country to march into the homes of decent people and drag them out without fear of reprisal. In the same way a criminal avoids anyone who has a gun because it increases his risk of survival, a power-grabbing dictator waits to disarm the population before using the military to pounce and exterminate any opposition. Once the threat of a viable citizen uprising is minimized by taking people’s weapons, it becomes feasible for power grabbing government agents to move to the “final solution” of exterminating large segments of the population.

Our founding fathers understood that the citizen bearing arms is the ultimate defense against tyranny. The second amendment clearly states, “ A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms will not be infringed.”  There is no legitimate way to change the meaning of this statement by parsing words although power driven elites will continue to attempt to strip citizens of their will to be free by confiscating their weapons.

Establishing a despotic regime takes destroying the spirit of the people to fight back. By fanning the fears of disarmed and dis-unified people, their resolve to be free is weakened. Without weapons people are helpless against armed government forces invading their homes.

Every American watching television on June 28, 2000 has ingrained in his brain a shameful image: a federal agent with his finger on the trigger of an MPS submachine gun with it pointed at Donato Dalyrimple and 6 year-old Elian Gonzalez. In the dark of night a federal SWAT team backed up by 130 federal agents broke down the door of a terrified family. It felt to Americans as if we were watching something from a dictatorship not something that could happen in our United States of America.

Elian courageously escaped with his mother from Communist Cuba.  The fisherman who was holding him when the feds broke into his home miraculously found him on an inner tube. Elian was free for a little over a year then was sent back to Cuba to become a propaganda tool for Fidel.

Elian’s mother sacrificed her life for his freedom. Eric Holder, then deputy attorney general, and now attorney general of the United States, stole Elian’s freedom for some dubious international political purpose.

This unimaginable event happened in the United States in 2000. Imagine what would happen if Americans lost the right to bear arms. All of us have a vested interest in keeping the Second Amendment giving citizens their constitutional right to protect our freedom from political tyranny.

“Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” Remember we are not entitled to our freedom. We must fight for it or we will lose it.

Dr. Maglio is the author of Invasion Within and Essential Parenting.  He is a psychotherapist and the owner/director of Wider Horizons School.

Visit: www.drmaglio.com.

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THE DIVERSION GAME: ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS

By Domenick J. Maglio PhD Neo Traditionalist

Both President Obama and Treasury Secretary Geithner say they take full responsibility for the AIG debacle although neither says what he has done wrong or what he would do to correct it. This may be a good sound bite but is meaningless. Actions speak louder than words.

Observant people become aware when they interact with children that they rarely respond to merely a lecture. An appropriate consequence consistently enforced works wonders in changing behavior. Witnessing others or experiencing punishment helps us to resist temptation to engage in immoral or criminal behavior. When crime seems to pay, more people join the ranks of wrongdoers. Politicians seem to think they are immune to prosecution.

Our government has passed over a one trillion dollar stimulus package, when interest is added, without following the proscribed constitutional process of legislative deliberation. There was not a single member or the congress or the executive branch that had read the entire bill before voting on it. There was a rush that did not allow for examining and developing specific objectives and guidelines to restrain fraud.

Whenever large sums of money are distributed without specific instructions and oversight, corruption will occur. It is like dropping a ton of narcotic pills in the middle of a meeting of drug addicts and expecting them not to devour them. This is ridiculous for most addictive personalities do not have the inner discipline to resist. Not only would they swallow as many pills as possible, but also once confronted about their behavior would not accept any responsibility for their actions. They would absurdly blame the people who transported the pills not themselves for causing their irresponsible behavior.

Our politicians are addicted to power and money instead of representing their constituency. They blame Wall Street for this financial fiasco instead of accepting any accountability for their own blatant corruption. Our congressional leaders who finagle money and favors from corporate lobbyists are the same people who wrote the laws but did not enforce them. They have attempted to cowardly hide their culpability by lambasting corporate CEOs. Corporate executives are easy to scapegoat with their exorbitant salaries and bonuses but the corrupt political elite are the traitors to our constitution.

AIG has been given $170 billion; Freddy Mac and Fannie Mae have each been given $100 billions of taxpayer’s money to bail them out after making decisions that were dictated by the congress. Senator Christopher Dodd has received over $280,000 dollars for political contributions directly from AIG. Barney Frank has received $40,100 from Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac and was romantically linked with an executive from Fannie Mae. Charles Rangel, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, received $110,000 from AIG and has multiple tax evasion problems.  The congressional involvement in the Countrywide sweetheart loan scandal has never been investigated or prosecuted.

There have been no public investigations or political consequences for these shenanigans or criminal actions. Instead, the same characters launched a theatrical outrage on a previously retired CEO, Ed Liddy, who just came on board AIG. This gentleman chose to receive a $1 salary for the position and was castigated for attempting to do his job of straightening out the AIG mess.

These demagogues hypocritically focused on retention bonuses totaling only $165 million, which is only .1 of 1% of the bailout package. The political outrage of dirty politicians is an attempt by them to divert public attention away from their incompetence or personally corrupt behavior. It did nothing to make anyone accountable for his misdeeds.

The politics of diversion, personal destruction and corruption is not new but the scope of the pot of gold is. Eleven trillion dollars without strings attached, unleashed in a few short months defies basic economics and common sense. This assault on responsible economic behavior will erode our economy and individual freedom.

Intuitively citizens understand that the government cannot responsibly manage this overwhelming expansion of debt predicted by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office to be $9.3 trillion until 2019.  This means the US will have to borrow this money from other nations, which will affect our security.

We know the abuse of our money exposed up to this point is merely the tip of the iceberg indicating a much larger problem. Our government is usurping the power of the people and placing it in the hands of the political elite. This is contrary to our constitution of restraining the power of the government. Large government’s centralized planning has never worked while a free citizenry making self-interest choices has produced the longest period of prosperity on earth in the United States of America.

The “New Politics” of hope and change has been shown to be nothing more than the old politics on steroids, Chicago style. There is the pandering to special interests, paybacks, ex-lobbyists put into positions of power, double talk instead of transparency, which ultimately will result in greater governmental interference in our lives. The power of the people is being stifled while the arrogance of power is going unchecked. Americans need to stand up and fight for our principles and freedoms found in our constitution or we deserve to be enslaved.

Let us get back to the best historical blueprint ever written. “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” (Preamble to the Constitution of the United States.)

Read our constitution and demand it be honored.

Dr. Maglio is the author of Invasion Within and Essential Parenting.  He is a psychotherapist and the owner/director of Wider Horizons School.

Visit: www.drmaglio.com.

THE NEW “AMERICAN DREAM” ENSLAVES

By Domenick J. Maglio PhD Neo Traditionalism

Many young, naïve and politically re-educated youth, struggling poor and the over indulged credit abusers believe they are entitled to an upgraded lifestyle. The provider of their dreams is government. The responsibility for health care, education, homes and even money for gas is expected to be furnished by an all-encompassing government.

“The new American Dream of wanting it and government will provide it” is much more attractive than the older version. This notion of government doing the people’s heavy lifting is more seductive although less realistic than the original American Dream of personal responsibility for one’s own success.

We are forgetting that government did not generate the wealth that the political scoundrels want to redistribute to win re-election. It is citizen’s hard work to move up the economic ladder that has made America wealthy. In our short history the most effective government practice has been to get out of the way of citizen’s freedom to be innovative and productive.

The traditional American Dream was that you could be anything you chose as long as you were willing to work for it. This dream was supported by limiting government not expanding it.  The checks and balances to restrain the natural tendency of big government to repress the people have given us the freedom to be successful.

America has reached levels of wealth that no other country throughout the ages has obtained. The average citizens have lifestyles that in the past were seen only by the richest segment of a society. Even our poorest citizens are living a material existence that is superior to the average people of many other nations.

The people who are industrious and productive are the backbone of capitalism. These productive people are the first to be targeted in the transition to socialism. These independent and self-reliant people usually have accumulated wealth, which is taken from them to be redistributed in order to buy the allegiance of less motivated citizens. This process kills the incentive of the doers leaving behind the dependency of the takers.

Socialism enslaves everyone in the society except the politically connected elite. The elites talk of “sacrifice for the common good” while they splurge and sock away their wealth. Politicians of both parties are willing to wreck our constitution to insure their personal power.

When the people work for the government instead of the government doing the people’s business, freedom quickly fades. Government can only grow by taking money from citizens. It can accomplish this through greater taxation or devaluating people’s wealth by printing more money. Without increasing productivity or backing the money with gold or silver, inflated worthless money is created.

The revolving door between government, corporations and the media is incestual and disgraceful. It is about solidifying power through whom you know not what you know. Unprincipled and self-serving politicians and corporate elite join forces supported by the majority of the media and out of-touch intellectual idealists to push the nation in a radical direction. These elites move away from time tested pragmatic policies toward experimental schemes to pretend to the people they will reach unattainable promises.

At each and every point of accountability on the road to socialism there are excuses. They blame and ridicule any reluctant leaders or segments of society for not making the necessary sacrifices. The disenfranchising of large chunks of the society is followed by another series of impractical experiments that fail.

The continual mantra of hope, promises and change turns to disillusion, resentment and finally fatalism. The citizen’s acceptance of the lack of social mobility by their own efforts leaves them with little motivation to be anything other than pathetic takers.

Politicians leading people to believe their unrealistic hopes and desires will be fulfilled by the government is not compassionate. It is mean and destructive. Eventually when aspirations are unfulfilled the people become dispirited. The worst consequence of lying to and appeasing voters in gaining their loyalty is not resentment and anger. It is the ultimate resignation to a drab existence with no vision of what could be.

Socialism, whether European Democratic Socialism, a gradual strangulation of personal responsibility and incentives or more dictatorial socialism from the top down, enslaves everyone except the elite.

Replacing the original realistic American Dream with socialistic jargon, which has always failed, will end the civilization our forefathers envisioned, fought and died for. We can prevent the crumbling of America by rejecting and ridiculing ideas that we know will never work. By becoming more aware and discerning voters, we can preserve America’s greatness.

Dr. Maglio is the author of Invasion Within and Essential Parenting.  He is a psychotherapist and the owner/director of Wider Horizons School.

Visit: www.drmaglio.com.

WHITE COLLAR MUGGINGS MATTER

By Domenick J. Maglio PhD

Americans have been taught that crime does not pay. This message seems to be changing in our evolving modern culture. The more accurate statement is, “crime does pay for the rich and connected” and only does not pay for the common person.

The President of the United States nominates cabinet officials and congress has the duty to or not to confirm these nominees. Our leadership in the three branches of government is teaching us it is acceptable to be a criminal as long as you have a high position of power.

In the judicial system judges have leeway in sentencing. The courts usually throw the book at the petty criminal. However when it comes to the rich and connected, our judicial system treats these criminals with kid gloves. The psychological trauma of having to start over after losing everything you have worked for your entire life can be harder to overcome than a physical wound.  The despair from white-collar robbery can alter one’s life even more drastically than a violent mugging.

The former chairman of NASDAQ, Bernard Madoff, has allegedly bilked $50 billion, not million, from very trusting clients. He is still living in comfort in his multi million-dollar penthouse spending other people’s money as a free man. The judges are treating him as a celebrity rather than what he is: a crook who has ruined the future of many people.

Individuals and foundations had total faith in Madoff’s integrity. This weasel and others like him did not use a gun but pulled off a Ponzi scheme crime that robbed his clients, friends and family. He and others like hedge fund manager, Arthur Nadel, knew his “house of cards” would eventually fall. All these white-collar muggers do irreparable damage to the lives of innocent people. Some of Madoff’s victims have committed suicide; the lives of others have been negatively altered forever.

On the political front we are told cheating on our taxes is a crime for us but is excused and dismissed for the “too big to fail” political elite.

Timothy Geithner, our new treasury secretary, admitted under oath and in front of congress, that he failed to pay his 2001 and 2002 taxes because the statute of limitations had run out making the government unable to legally penalize him. Just before the confirmation process he did pay the 2003 and 2004 taxes he also owed. Unbelievably he then stated that “they were unintentional mistakes” and “he should have been more careful.” This was not incompetence. It was blatant cheating. He was rewarded with being confirmed to the powerful federal position enforcing the IRS laws, which he did not follow. His appointment is choosing the fox to guard the henhouse.

Tom Daschle is the latest tax cheat owing over $140,000 in back taxes and earned $5.2 million, a quarter of which was consulting with companies he is supposed to now regulate. His wife is a high profile lobbyist. After nominating him, President Obama continued to support him for the job of secretary of Health and Human Services until it became obvious it would be politically impossible for the senate to confirm him.

Charles Rangel, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has cheated the taxpayers out of unpaid taxes for a decade.  It appears he will not be required to pay interest or penalties on the $20,000 in unpaid taxes. He has not stepped aside as chairman nor been asked to resign by fellow members of congress.

Christopher Dodd received a special VIP discounted mortgage from Countryside Mortgage Company. The Mark Rich scandal and huge donations from foreign governments to the Clinton library did not derail Hillary Clinton ‘s confirmation as Secretary of State.

The selection of disreputable politicians is making a mockery of every American for being a responsible citizen. Citizens will pay their taxes thinking that they may be fools for doing so. We have always had crooked politicians. In the past it was a drip, now it is a flood. These hypocrites have contempt for American laws and moral values that they are supposed to enforce.

WE THE PEOPLE choose elected officials to represent the people’s interest not their own aggrandizement. Without justice being served in the judicial, executive and congressional branches of government we will continue to see an increased Cancer of Corruption. Punishment has the power to deter criminal behavior. Without serious penalties for these sleazy financiers and politicians there will be no impeding them from continuing down the path of deceit thus undermining our institutions.

Our founding fathers noted that a republic needs moral leadership to survive. As President Obama said on January 29th about Wall Street CEO’s receiving excessive bonuses, “This is the height of irresponsibility. It is shameful.”

President Obama should heed his own words or suffer the ridicule of breaking his emphatic promises of leading an ethical government. President Obama should heed his own words and not nominate anyone who does not have an impeccable record. He should use the bully pulpit to point out and then cut out the Cancer of Corruption when it surfaces in the congress and the executive branch. 

WE THE PEOPLE must vote out any congressional representative who does not stand up against corruption or we will all witness the dissolution of our republic.

Dr. Maglio is the author of  Invasion Within and Essential Parenting.  He is a psychotherapist and the owner/director of Wider Horizons School.

Visit: www.drmaglio.com.

WHITE COLLAR MUGGINGS MATTER

By Domenick J. Maglio PhD

Americans have been taught that crime does not pay. This message seems to be changing in our evolving modern culture. The more accurate statement is, “crime does pay for the rich and connected” and only does not pay for the common person.

The President of the United States nominates cabinet officials and congress has the duty to or not to confirm these nominees. Our leadership in the three branches of government is teaching us it is acceptable to be a criminal as long as you have a high position of power.

In the judicial system judges have leeway in sentencing. The courts usually throw the book at the petty criminal. However when it comes to the rich and connected, our judicial system treats these criminals with kid gloves. The psychological trauma of having to start over after losing everything you have worked for your entire life can be harder to overcome than a physical wound.  The despair from white-collar robbery can alter one’s life even more drastically than a violent mugging.

The former chairman of NASDAQ, Bernard Madoff, has allegedly bilked $50 billion, not million, from very trusting clients. He is still living in comfort in his multi million-dollar penthouse spending other people’s money as a free man. The judges are treating him as a celebrity rather than what he is: a crook who has ruined the future of many people.

Individuals and foundations had total faith in Madoff’s integrity. This weasel and others like him did not use a gun but pulled off a Ponzi scheme crime that robbed his clients, friends and family. He and others like hedge fund manager, Arthur Nadel, knew his “house of cards” would eventually fall. All these white-collar muggers do irreparable damage to the lives of innocent people. Some of Madoff’s victims have committed suicide; the lives of others have been negatively altered forever.

On the political front we are told cheating on our taxes is a crime for us but is excused and dismissed for the “too big to fail” political elite.

Timothy Geithner, our new treasury secretary, admitted under oath and in front of congress, that he failed to pay his 2001 and 2002 taxes because the statute of limitations had run out making the government unable to legally penalize him. Just before the confirmation process he did pay the 2003 and 2004 taxes he also owed. Unbelievably he then stated that “they were unintentional mistakes” and “he should have been more careful.” This was not incompetence. It was blatant cheating. He was rewarded with being confirmed to the powerful federal position enforcing the IRS laws, which he did not follow. His appointment is choosing the fox to guard the henhouse.

Tom Daschle is the latest tax cheat owing over $140,000 in back taxes and earned $5.2 million, a quarter of which was consulting with companies he is supposed to now regulate. His wife is a high profile lobbyist. After nominating him, President Obama continued to support him for the job of secretary of Health and Human Services until it became obvious it would be politically impossible for the senate to confirm him.

Charles Rangel, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has cheated the taxpayers out of unpaid taxes for a decade.  It appears he will not be required to pay interest or penalties on the $20,000 in unpaid taxes. He has not stepped aside as chairman nor been asked to resign by fellow members of congress.

Christopher Dodd received a special VIP discounted mortgage from Countryside Mortgage Company. The Mark Rich scandal and huge donations from foreign governments to the Clinton library did not derail Hillary Clinton ‘s confirmation as Secretary of State.

The selection of disreputable politicians is making a mockery of every American for being a responsible citizen. Citizens will pay their taxes thinking that they may be fools for doing so. We have always had crooked politicians. In the past it was a drip, now it is a flood. These hypocrites have contempt for American laws and moral values that they are supposed to enforce.

WE THE PEOPLE choose elected officials to represent the people’s interest not their own aggrandizement. Without justice being served in the judicial, executive and congressional branches of government we will continue to see an increased Cancer of Corruption. Punishment has the power to deter criminal behavior. Without serious penalties for these sleazy financiers and politicians there will be no impeding them from continuing down the path of deceit thus undermining our institutions.

Our founding fathers noted that a republic needs moral leadership to survive. As President Obama said on January 29th about Wall Street CEO’s receiving excessive bonuses, “This is the height of irresponsibility. It is shameful.”

President Obama should heed his own words or suffer the ridicule of breaking his emphatic promises of leading an ethical government. President Obama should heed his own words and not nominate anyone who does not have an impeccable record. He should use the bully pulpit to point out and then cut out the Cancer of Corruption when it surfaces in the congress and the executive branch. 

WE THE PEOPLE must vote out any congressional representative who does not stand up against corruption or we will all witness the dissolution of our republic.

Dr. Maglio is the author of  Invasion Within and Essential Parenting.  He is a psychotherapist and the owner/director of Wider Horizons School.

Visit: www.drmaglio.com.

CHANGE IS THE STATUS QUO: DEPRESSION HOAX

By Domenick J. Maglio PhD Neo Traditionalist

“A government big enough to give you everything you want is strong enough to take everything you have.” Thomas Jefferson

Politicians always promise change. From FDR’s New Deal, JFK’s New Frontier, LBJ’s Great Society, Clinton’s Bridge to the 21st Century, to W’s Compassionate Conservatism, presidents promise change that is impossible to be kept. The fewer promises kept means the less government needs to feed itself by taking from certain people and giving to others. “In general the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give it to the other.” Voltaire 1764

Our constitution with its checks and balances has made it difficult for any group to dictate the direction of the nation. It slows down radical change and fosters gradual change. This keeps the USA on a stable and straight course never taking us too far to the left or the right.

Most presidents have used some type of utopian dreams to get elected or fear of war or economic crisis to push their agenda once in office. JFK’s Cuban Missile Crisis, FDR’s WWII, W’s War on Terror were used to push their agendas. FDR in 1932 used the economic downturn to concentrate power in Washington instituting many social programs.

Wars and economic cycles have happened throughout the ages. Utopian dreams historically have developed  “isms” that have never delivered their promise. It is the nature of politicians to exploit an issue to galvanize support for their policies. President Obama is going to try to pass his welfare state agenda by fanning the flames of the present economic downturn.

President Obama announced the last quarter GDP, Gross Domestic Product, fell 3.8% making the 2008 GDP fall for year at a rate of 1.8%. He stated that this is the worst downtrend for 27 years and “a continuing disaster” and “catastrophe.” In reality it is not even as bad as the 1982 recession no less the Great Depression.

Since economies are cyclical you can always emphasize their positive or negative statistical indicators. “Lies, damn lies and statistics.” Benjamin Disraeli.  Day after day the media features another politician, including President Obama, trumpeting that the economy is in shambles and it will take years to get better.

This uncertainty of the future is a breeding ground for a real depression. A lowering of the expectations for the economy might be a good political strategy for not losing future popularity but it does establish a negative self-fulfilling prophesy.

When people are coaxed into pessimism they are more willing to accept drastic changes. Establishing a panic is a shrewd way of avoiding the legislative process with its limitations and constitutional safeguards for passing sweeping economic changes. The fear of losing everything a person has earned is a strong motivator for change. Even if it mans the suspension of our federal structure that promotes thoughtful deliberation before passing laws.

Panic ensued after the television presentation by President Bush’s Treasure Secretary Paulson. He rammed through a $750 billion TARP program without the constitutional requirement of a congressional debate. There was no resulting worldwide depression even though there was no thawing of US credit. Having no mechanism of accountability, this boondoggle cannot account for $78 billion of the bailout.

TARP did not work and now WE THE PEOPLE are expected to agree to more potential government wasteful tinkering and corruption. Large central government sucks the energy from the self-reliant businessman. Regardless of whether the bloated central government is called socialism, fascism or communism they all have failed to give individual freedom and economic prosperity. Concentrated government power encourages the political elite to become audacious in their grab for power and our money.

The smartest political operatives of any country given the power to micromanage the society are no more likely to succeed than a group of meteorologists can control the weather. The task has too many complex variables to account for and align to get a desired result.

“I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.” Winston Churchill. Wasteful spending got us into this mess and more spending and taxation will worsen the problem.

America’s historical answer to national obstacles is to rely on citizens to make responsible choices. On the personal level in a free nation people decide to switch jobs, and to save or spend according to their own circumstances. On the national stage we have the power of a secret ballot to vote to keep government corruption to a minimum by electing people who represent our interests rather than their own. We have no choice but to be involved in politics or we will surrender our freedom.

“Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you!”  Pericles 430 B.C.

Dr. Maglio is the author of Invasion Within and Essential Parenting.  He is a psychotherapist and the owner/director of Wider Horizons School.

Visit: www.drmaglio.com.

CHANGE IS THE STATUS QUO: DEPRESSION HOAX

By Domenick J. Maglio PhD Neo Traditionalist

“A government big enough to give you everything you want is strong enough to take everything you have.” Thomas Jefferson

Politicians always promise change. From FDR’s New Deal, JFK’s New Frontier, LBJ’s Great Society, Clinton’s Bridge to the 21st Century, to W’s Compassionate Conservatism, presidents promise change that is impossible to be kept. The fewer promises kept means the less government needs to feed itself by taking from certain people and giving to others. “In general the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give it to the other.” Voltaire 1764

Our constitution with its checks and balances has made it difficult for any group to dictate the direction of the nation. It slows down radical change and fosters gradual change. This keeps the USA on a stable and straight course never taking us too far to the left or the right.

Most presidents have used some type of utopian dreams to get elected or fear of war or economic crisis to push their agenda once in office. JFK’s Cuban Missile Crisis, FDR’s WWII, W’s War on Terror were used to push their agendas. FDR in 1932 used the economic downturn to concentrate power in Washington instituting many social programs.

Wars and economic cycles have happened throughout the ages. Utopian dreams historically have developed  “isms” that have never delivered their promise. It is the nature of politicians to exploit an issue to galvanize support for their policies. President Obama is going to try to pass his welfare state agenda by fanning the flames of the present economic downturn.

President Obama announced the last quarter GDP, Gross Domestic Product, fell 3.8% making the 2008 GDP fall for year at a rate of 1.8%. He stated that this is the worst downtrend for 27 years and “a continuing disaster” and “catastrophe.” In reality it is not even as bad as the 1982 recession no less the Great Depression.

Since economies are cyclical you can always emphasize their positive or negative statistical indicators. “Lies, damn lies and statistics.” Benjamin Disraeli.  Day after day the media features another politician, including President Obama, trumpeting that the economy is in shambles and it will take years to get better.

This uncertainty of the future is a breeding ground for a real depression. A lowering of the expectations for the economy might be a good political strategy for not losing future popularity but it does establish a negative self-fulfilling prophesy.

When people are coaxed into pessimism they are more willing to accept drastic changes. Establishing a panic is a shrewd way of avoiding the legislative process with its limitations and constitutional safeguards for passing sweeping economic changes. The fear of losing everything a person has earned is a strong motivator for change. Even if it mans the suspension of our federal structure that promotes thoughtful deliberation before passing laws.

Panic ensued after the television presentation by President Bush’s Treasure Secretary Paulson. He rammed through a $750 billion TARP program without the constitutional requirement of a congressional debate. There was no resulting worldwide depression even though there was no thawing of US credit. Having no mechanism of accountability, this boondoggle cannot account for $78 billion of the bailout.

TARP did not work and now WE THE PEOPLE are expected to agree to more potential government wasteful tinkering and corruption. Large central government sucks the energy from the self-reliant businessman. Regardless of whether the bloated central government is called socialism, fascism or communism they all have failed to give individual freedom and economic prosperity. Concentrated government power encourages the political elite to become audacious in their grab for power and our money.

The smartest political operatives of any country given the power to micromanage the society are no more likely to succeed than a group of meteorologists can control the weather. The task has too many complex variables to account for and align to get a desired result.

“I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.” Winston Churchill. Wasteful spending got us into this mess and more spending and taxation will worsen the problem.

America’s historical answer to national obstacles is to rely on citizens to make responsible choices. On the personal level in a free nation people decide to switch jobs, and to save or spend according to their own circumstances. On the national stage we have the power of a secret ballot to vote to keep government corruption to a minimum by electing people who represent our interests rather than their own. We have no choice but to be involved in politics or we will surrender our freedom.

“Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you!”  Pericles 430 B.C.

Dr. Maglio is the author of Invasion Within and Essential Parenting.  He is a psychotherapist and the owner/director of Wider Horizons School.

Visit: www.drmaglio.com.

DR. SPOCK PLANTED THE SEEDS OF SOCIALISM

By Domenick J. Maglio PhD Neo Traditionalist

Newsweek’s cover story on February 14, 2009,  “We Are All Socialists Now” was shocking to see in print.  This attention getter is certainly premature although it does dramatically state the road we are traveling. It is true today that many Americans are not disturbed by the phenomenal growth of government and its intrusion into our daily lives.

Just a few years ago America overwhelmingly understood the ultimate devastation to a nation’s freedom and prosperity of following the unworkable, phony promises of socialism. The mention of “American socialism” was taboo. As our affluence has grown our appreciation of the nightmare unrealistic notions has faded. The lack of knowledge of history, the media’s infatuation with socialism and especially the way we are raising our children for the past 60 years are the reasons socialism has become more acceptable to Americans.

The permissive/materialistic approach to child rearing started by Dr. Benjamin Spock after WWII has lain the foundation for dependency on the government. His advice influenced not only the “baby boomer era” after WWII but also our child rearing practices up to the present. The permissive/materialistic philosophy he promoted was a radical departure from our traditional child rearing practices. It has made us more susceptible for a “something for nothing-take care of me for life” attitude.

Dr. Spock’s guidelines are a compatible formula for raising adults to conform to a socialistic agenda. Children under this approach are taught they are equal to parents and other adults. In a democratic family, members have an equal vote regardless of their abilities and responsibilities. Children are convinced they are entitled to anything they want by asking or by demanding it.

This unrealistic idea encourages children to do and get what they want without having to contribute anything. Instead of learning to be givers to the family and society, these princes and princesses become debaters and manipulators pushing the envelope to get what they want. Children raised in this manner have little appreciation and understanding of the cost of their existence. Ultimately it produces instant gratification, credit consumers with a warped sense of how the real world functions.

One of the reasons this type of child rearing became so fashionable with parents is that it takes them off the hook for having to work at parenting. There was no more need to instill traditional moral values that require close supervision, firmness and disciplining until the child reaches adulthood.

The primary goal of parents who follow Spock is for them to be the child’s friend not to prepare him to function as an adult. This allows parents to have more time for personal enjoyment and pursuits without the burden of everyday responsibilities and hassles of raising their children. The parents do pay the price of doing things for their children that the traditionally raised would easily do for themselves. These parents do not realize if they invested the time in teaching the skills and habits to do things for themselves when the child was young they would no longer have to constantly manage their children’s lives.

The children and grandchildren of “baby boomers” are even more removed from the traditional moral training of right and wrong, personal responsibility and the work ethic. This lack of reality training makes these future adults more willing to accept the loss of personal freedom for a material bribe. The self-reliance of traditional childhood has been lost in the instant gratification and no limits world created by Spock’s child rearing approach.

It is no wonder that consciously or unconsciously Dr. Spock’s parenting would encourage acceptance of a socialistic world. In 1972 Dr. Spock ran for president on the People’s Party platform. He called for a guaranteed median income for families, legalized abortion, homosexuality, marijuana and called for an immediate withdrawal from Vietnam.

The present child development experts who mostly promote permissive/materialistic practices are being exposed for their inability to produce strong, self-reliant and hard working adults. These inadequacies of this philosophy are hard to gloss over in a more competitive world.

In economic prosperity, parents can afford to be complacent about their child’s productivity. They can use their resources to buy expensive gifts and “experts” who can attempt to correct their lack of diligence in parenting.

Tough times demand more steadfast parents who have no illusions that their money can purchase their child’s success. Parent’s complacency is replaced by urgency when they no longer have the resources to buy their child’s future.

The economic correction of living beyond our means that is now taking place will serve a positive unintended consequence. Parents will be forced to understand that they have knowledge that their children do not have.  They will have more clarity of the responsibility they have to share this with their children.

Parents must again be parents. They must insist that the child do quality work in all activities especially the ones the child dislikes or finds difficult. Parent’s finite time with their child should be primarily devoted to preparing them to be decent human beings who persevere to accomplish whatever they set their sights on.

The way we rock the cradle does determine our national character and future.

Weak, helpless, dependent citizens are the essential ingredient for a small group of power elites  succeeding in robbing us of our freedoms by imposing a totalitarian state.

Dr. Maglio is the author of Invasion Within and Essential Parenting.  He is a psychotherapist and the owner/director of Wider Horizons School.

Visit: www.drmaglio.com.

AMERICANS SHOULD PROUDLY SPEAK UP FOR THE USA

By Domenick J. Maglio Ph.D. Neo Traditionalist

It is easy to understand why foreigners dislike the USA. Night after night on our own and foreign television and in the press, America is portrayed as a violent, prejudiced and greedy nation that has accumulated wealth and power through exploiting foreign nations.

America is hated worldwide partly due to jealousy of our success but mostly because of the horrible way our and the foreign press corps depict our nation.  Any wholesome news is rarely published as it would either not be sensational enough or appear as USA propaganda. Significant positive events, no matter how real, also would be dismissed by the people as propaganda. The result of this constant negative reporting creates the false image that the USA is a country to be despised.

Chavez is cheered for his anti-American diatribes in the United Nations. No wonder the Miss America candidate was booed in Mexico. Throughout the world there are politically staged anti-American protests casting America as a regime on a par with Nazi Germany.

This constant negativity is not only impacting our international image, it is affecting our best and brightest. Our students are not taught about the incredible personal sacrifices of our countrymen throughout our history. Instead they receive anti-American propaganda emphasizing individual frailties and policy shortcomings while dismissing the overwhelming generosity of our nation towards other peoples of the world. The heroes of our past and our victories in liberating nations and assisting in humanitarian endeavors are unrecognized or spun to render them worthless.

The answer to remedying this distorted view of America is simple. Citizens must do their duty to explain to others the facts about America. We need to teach about our incredible history based on our Constitution and Bill of Rights to our own children and the students in our schools. No one else is better than the American people to tell the truth about America. It is up to each and every citizen to dispel ridiculous conspiratorial theories spread by the likes of Hollywood’s Michael Moore and Oliver Stone.

First, parents should point out to their children citizens in the neighborhood whose daily exemplary lives are inspiring to them. They need to tell the children the wonderful things others have done in their lives that has gone above and beyond their duty to help them. Secondly, highlight the media incidents like the pilot Chelsey Sullenberger and his crew and the New York ferry boat workers who saved the 155 people in the airplane that landed on the Hudson River.

Patriotic citizens need to inform other citizens and foreigners that our prosperity is not based on luck or oppressive power, but on our morals, rule of law and dedication to the work ethic. We should describe in detail to them the hectic lifestyle we have to live in order to maintain our standard of living and position in the world.  Up to this point, the average American has earned what he has.

America is a magnet to many people around the world. Foreigners worldwide pour into America to visit and return home with many goods. They see wide boulevards, large modern homes, orderly neighborhoods, a vast array of consumer products and constant opportunities to shop, which are impressive to them. Immigrants prove, regardless of the distorted media, that the USA is still highly admired. It is the destination to which most people would like to migrate.

Our nation like other countries has many areas in need of improvement, although we are, for the most part, a generous and decent people. We possess more economic and individual freedom than any other country on earth. There are many more reasons to be proud of than to be ashamed of our country.

A triumph of America is dramatically witnessed every four years. In a lawful electoral process, the power of our federal government is handed over to the electoral winner. This is done in a peaceful manner even though a small percentage is usually the determining factor between the winning and losing candidate.

There is no other major nation on the face of the earth that has had a more stable and uninterrupted federal republic form of government. Regardless of the intensity of the presidential campaign, majority rule has prevailed. There has been no armed resistance to reverse the election results in the United States. This peaceful transition, by itself is a tribute to American exceptionalism.

The peace, prosperity, vast national resources and especially our constitutional republic gives every American reason to count his blessings. Instead of despising America for its imperfections, we should unite in our appreciation for what America has done to make each citizen’s life full of opportunity.

Americans need to proudly stand up and speak to help misinformed anti-American citizens and foreigners comprehend the virtues of living in the freest nation on earth.

Dr. Maglio is the author of Invasion Within and Essential Parenting.  He is a psychotherapist and the owner/director of Wider Horizons School.

Visit: www.drmaglio.com.

CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS SHOULD BE OUT-ON-BAIL NOT BAILING OUT

By Domenick J. Maglio PhD.    Neo Traditionalist

The American public has seen enough of Congress’s political sleight of-hand. Like a “Shell Game” they move the focus from one emergency bailout to another crisis to keep us from finding the truth about their filthy hands in creating this economic disaster.

We the people must demand a special prosecutor to get to the bottom of punishing governmental representatives receiving unethical and illegal kickbacks. The money can  easily be traced back to executives who donated money or special benefits to Congressional leaders to initiate laws that serve their special interests. The people’s interest is ignored

The Congressional Club, the Executive branch and the media are no longer functioning as a check-and-balance on each other.   They glibly talk about transparency while behind the citizen’s back, not only do they bailout incompetence amongst their corporate buddies but make deals to avoid being “outed” for self-serving unethical behavior. The government elites’ self-protection club is about the only thing in Washington, DC that is functioning well.

The most immoral of our congressional leaders are using their spotlight to give hush, bailout money and allow “golden parachutes” to the very executives that line their pockets with contributions and corporate benefits.   These pompous crooks are given a pass by the press corps who laughs along with them while they verbally crucify other elites in business and government without calling for investigations and punishment that might singe them. After their tough antics in front of the cameras these phonies continue to grant lucrative bailouts to their friends.

The imperial Congress has to be made accountable for their mutual, beneficial and probably corrupt relationship with corporations. The Barney Franks, Christopher Dodds and Charles Rangels have to be immediately investigated for their already identified unethical and possibly criminal behavior. They can no longer be allowed to cast more dubious legislation and bailouts to solidify their power.  President Bush and other executive personnel need to testify under oath the reasons for their silence or cooperation in the mismanagement of the economy.

This farce of smoke and mirrors continues each week with another revelation and bailout scheme to stabilize the economy. It only causes uncertainty and inflames fear that enables them to push their personal agenda.  We need to get to the bottom of this cancer.

The American people know in their own lives that to regain health you have to “suck it up” and take the right bitter medicine. First you have to identify the problem by examining all the possibilities of what is causing the difficulty. In this financial panic

before we can remove the financial uncertainty that is compounding the fear, we need to demand a special prosecutor. Like any competent professional he will examine the history of this debacle to determine the web of deceit and remove the parasites that have infected our economy.

Citizens understand the imposing of bailouts is not solving the cause of our economic downturn. It is the government elites’ underhanded attempt to control our economy. In a Socialized America, government elites will magnify their importance and power  attempting to micromanage our economic decisions. This will radically decrease our freedom.

Only we middle class Americans will lose. The rich and the poor will gain. The upper class will lock in their wealth and power while the poor will be given redistributed wealth for their vote. The taxes will primarily come from the middle class taxpayers. This will cause the demise of the middle class and capitalism.

The Special Prosecutor can and should cut through the special interests presenting the facts of how this happened and punish the scoundrels.  We the people should become more vigilant in electing moral representatives who will follow our constitutional law.

Citizens need to take the power back from government representatives. A march on Washington will put fear into the hearts of these out-of-control egotists. The free market economy and individual rights protected under the constitution attracted worldwide immigration to the shores of the USA. It was our freedom to excel and incredible work ethic that has made us the envy of the world. In the past we were blessed by moral leadership.

The present cast of greedy power grabbing and self-serving buffoons is leading us down a path towards being a third world nation. Their excuses, lack of responsibility and blaming everyone else must be ended. We should drain the swamp that is infesting America.

Our destiny as the leader of the free world depends on our ability to cleanse the government of these slimy politicians.

Dr. Maglio is the author of  Invasion Within and Essential Parenting.  He is a psychotherapist and the owner/director of Wider Horizons School.

Visit: www.drmaglio.com.

SOMETHING FOR NOTHING ENDS WITH LESS THAN NOTHING

By Domenick J. Maglio PhD Neo Traditionalist

November 17, 2008

In 1916 Rev. J.H. Boetcker wrote “The Ten Cannots”. These “Cannots” still ring true especially in our current economic meltdown.

   1. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.

   2. You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.

   3. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.

   4. You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.

   5. You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich.

   6. You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.

   7. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.

   8. You cannot establish security on borrowed money.

   9. You cannot build character and courage by taking away man's initiative and independence.

  10. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.

There should be another “Cannot” Number 11, added to this list.

   11. You cannot build national prosperity by giving mega companies and 40% of the citizens something for nothing.

It appears that almost everyone except our national leaders know that when people are given something without earning it they do not appreciate and just waste it. They might have won the lottery or received an inheritance or a substantial job promotion because of their good looks, their friends or ability to con others. Sometimes we even are dumb enough to be envious of what seems to be their good fortune. These people who have not earned and sacrificed for what they have been given, place little value on it. In a short interval they blow the money ending in a worse financial and psychological state than they were before.

AIG, the world’s largest and most notorious insurance company insists on having outrageously expensive retreats in luxurious settings with $87 billion of taxpayer’s money. AIG continues its addiction to non-prudent business practices. It asked for more bailout money because “it is too big to fail.” It has received yet another bailout totaling $150 billion. This is not capitalism it is incompetent socialism.

A small businessman faced with a red bottom line would have to do the opposite of AIG. He would have to review his policies, cut back on discretionary spending, decrease his personal income and reluctantly lay off employees in order to turn a profit. The past reality was if he did not place his business in the black he would be out of business. Even if the business failed, self-reliant people would learn a lesson that would help them be more successful the next time.

In this chaos of bailouts the small entrepreneur would not be able to learn from the “school of hard knocks”. He might hold out hope that the government would give him a present too. A handout would stop innovation plus feed the addiction to other’s money. In the same way people who have blown their lottery winnings or inheritance bonanzas often expect family and friends to subsidize the above-their-means lifestyle. Eventually, like any addict, the people close to them get tired of their whining and back off to let them crash back into reality.

Unfortunately our government is not ready to say “enough.” The corporate and government elites who are directly involved with the embezzlement of our treasury are receiving no criminal or financial consequences under our present approach.  Forty percent of all potential taxpayers, the lower class, do not pay federal income tax and will not care about the destruction of our currency as long as they keep on receiving checks from the government.

We need to get government out of attempting to micromanage the economy by changing the rules as they go along. By not allowing businesses to fail we are encouraging bad business practices and discouraging corrective actions. Our financial institutions, international insurance companies, the automobile industry, state and local governments and our next bailed out industry will continue to have its hands out for more and more money. The lower class will gladly take another stimulus package to spend someone else’s money for their Christmas gifts. Everyone would line up. They are creating a bottomless pit. “Something for Nothing” economic policy will cause many hardworking middle class innocent bystanders to wind up with worthless money and savings. Continuing down the path of printing more money to save undeserving corporations while paying off the poor to keep them quiet and happy will end in an economic collapse.

United States citizens must denounce our present disastrous economic enabling greed. The middle class that has the majority of the tax burden will demand holding our government and corporate elites accountable. The middle class revolt will force our elected and corporate leaders to stop their manipulation of the market.  These elites will no longer be able to protect the poorly run companies from suffering the consequences of their actions. These companies that have discarded their competitive edge will make the necessary changes under Chapter 11 or go bankrupt like any other failed venture. The well-run businesses will not only survive but also grow and prosper.

You cannot build economic prosperity by giving mismanaged entities something for nothing. Stopping government influence peddling for money will unleash capitalist principles to keep our economy free and viable.

Dr. Maglio is the author of Invasion Within and Essential Parenting.  He is a psychotherapist and the owner/director of Wider Horizons School.

Visit: www.drmaglio.com.

SOLVING OUR NATION’S CREDIT ADDICTION

By Domenick Maglio PhD Neo Traditionalist

“The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance” Cicero, 55 BC.

History repeats itself although the officialdom has not learned its lessons. Alan Greenspan, former long-term head of the Federal Reserve, consistently assured the American people that the 5-year housing boom would not negatively affect the national economy. On October 23, 2008, instead of taking responsibility for not stopping fraud and reckless financial practices, he stated in front of the House Oversight Committee that the present “melt-down” had revealed a flaw in a lifetime of economic thinking and left him in a state of “shocked disbelief.” He had to know the housing bubble, like the “Dot.Com” bubble would eventually burst.

What goes up must come down except for powerful government elites. Arrogantly our nation’s elites through the privately owned corporation, the Federal Reserve, are attempting to alter the natural laws of economics. Ben Bernake, presently the head of the Federal Reserve, told Congress on October 19, 2008 that another multi billion-dollar stimulus package will be needed. This statement gave a blessing to throwing more of the taxpayer’s dollars into propping up an out-of-control speculative boom.

The elite financial gurus of our nation insist we need to loosen credit so people can buy houses, autos and other large purchases so we can keep the economy humming. Increasing the money supply lowers the value of each dollar. Anyone who recently traveled to Europe knows the dollar has fallen to 65% of its value compared to the Euro. Eventually if we continue without cutting back on our spending we will be like the German Weinberg republic where a person needed a wheelbarrow full of money to buy a loaf of bread.

Most Americans have been pragmatic not delusional citizens. They understood that there are economic downturn periods. When times are prosperous they know they had to save and live within their means.

Times have changed in balancing our budget. Americans have the lowest percentage of savings and the highest level of bankruptcy in our history. With the constant barrage of no money down, buy on credit, spend, spend, spend, we have jumped on the bandwagon of living for today and forget about tomorrow’s obligations.

 “Credit addiction” has not only invaded the common sense of many citizens, through the consumerism propaganda campaign, but government/corporate elites appear to also have become addicted to spending money they do not have. Through the immoral exchange of kickbacks for corporate welfare congressmen sold out their sacred responsibility of balancing the budget.

As with any addiction you reach a pivotal point where you choose to face painful withdrawal or you choose to suffer an agonizing death. Many of our citizens and now our governmental representatives have to decide to stop kidding ourselves and begin the difficult task of living within our budgets or suffer personal or national disaster. Not many sane Americans want to be a slave to a personal or national addiction.

Our government and corporate elites have to admit they are addicted to “loose money” and bailouts. By acknowledging they created and sustained a false “boom market” can they begin the process of righting this artificial economy. Passing laws, backed by our treasury to give credit to people and now corporations, who cannot pay them back is fertile ground for corruption and another Great Depression.

Alan Greenspan can do our nation a great service by admitting the housing boom was largely his fault and not a flaw of the free market economy. He turned a blind eye to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and CEO shenanigans and kept the interest rate of borrowing money at unprecedented lows that spurred on reckless lending. His policy as well as that of his protégé, Ben Bernake, was to continually increase liquidity: the money supply, by printing more money, which lowered the value of our currency.

By not allowing the free market system to work we are compounding, not solving the problem. The bitter medicine is to let the free market set home prices no matter how low they fall and determine solvency of corporations no matter the political influence or the size of the corporation. No industry or international company is too big to fail.

As the truth of the loose morals and money debacle surfaces, these elites who perpetuate this pillage of our economic system will be forced to step down from their non-elected positions of power and our corrupt politicians need to be voted out of office.

Only by exposing the real culprits and their destructive policies can our economy’s credit addiction be held in check for the benefit of all responsible Americans.

Dr. Maglio is the author of Invasion Within and Essential Parenting.  He is a psychotherapist and the owner/director of Wider Horizons School.

Visit: www.drmaglio.com.

THE AMERICAN SPIRIT WILL PREVAIL

By Domenick J. Maglio Ph.D. Neo Traditionalist

The current monetary crisis was a long time coming. Almost everyone knew the mortgages given to people with no money down who could not afford to pay them back was a disaster in the making. Those of us who played by the rules, paid our mortgages, worked hard every day and did not participate in the risky business of flipping homes saw our interests disregarded. We are panicky that our way of life, savings and freedom will be gone each morning when we wake up.

Our leaders are unwilling to make the hard decisions we know must be made to correct previously unintended mistakes or outright corruption and deceit. This is especially despicable for CEOs who “cooked the books” to receive obscene multi million dollar bonuses. Our faith in our elite leaders and institutions is disintegrating in front of our eyes.  We are a nation without a rudder.

This present national crisis is not a figment of our imagination. It has to be confronted and systematically solved and no longer be swept under the rug. The people are realizing that our charismatic leaders and their “kiss up” colleagues have built up a “something for nothing” fantasy world. This alternative world based on an illusion of wealth is seducing us away from our morality and our instinctive knowledge of reality. This house of cards is falling apart in front of our eyes

This not the first time America has been on the brink of disaster but each and every time we have refused to give up. US colonists could have demanded George Washington surrender after losing battle after battle to the immensely superior British forces. Over 600,000 deaths in the Civil War could have forced the dissolution of the United States. WWI, the Great Depression and WWII were powerful crises that could have left America in shambles utterly destroyed as a sovereign nation.

Our Bill of Rights has allowed us: individually and congressionally, the freedom to debate possible strategies to overcome any breakdowns impeding our future. Each and every challenge we faced has made us a stronger more united nation.

Recently the Iraqi war was grabbed from the jaws of defeat. American young men and women soldiers under the command of General Petraeus with the support of the quiet majority of citizens won over and unified the entire Iraqi nation. This was done amidst the political and media’s drumbeat of certain defeat.

The citizens of America knew intuitively that there was no way that we could or should lose a war in the middle east without long term negative consequences. Defeat, no matter how formidable the opposition or crisis, is not an acceptable option for our citizens. Americans, when we put our minds to reaching a goal, we get the job done.

 During the spring’s Midwest floods and the summer’s hurricanes: Gustav and Ike, destruction showed American’s goodness. Neighbor reaching out to neighbor and personal effort saved lives and property. The beginning of rebuilding these devastated areas starts with local citizens and officials not big government bureaucrats. The United States’ greatest resource is its people.

Although we courageously came from all over the world leaving our mother countries, we assimilated and revitalized this country with each new wave of immigration. Our dynamic culture is a blend of the energy of these people who learned to believe in the principles of a just world.

These self-selected people are self-reliant, responsible and freedom loving doers who expect to be part of the American dream. As we study US history we learn our nation has never succumbed to evil. We believe we can accomplish anything so long as we work hard enough, sacrifice and do the right things. We believe good always conquers evil as long as good people stand up to it. This belief has repeatedly rallied us to action.

Americans are an optimistic and moral people. We will rediscover our moral compass and entrepreneurial spirit. This will unleash our ingenuity generating new capital to place us back on a morally and fiscally sound course. We will not accept the loss of our American Dream. Surrendering to socialism is not in our DNA.

Americans need to demand accountability from our current local and national leaders. We need the guidance of a strong and courageous person. A leader will appear out of this chaos to accomplish the “will of the people” not his own self-serving agenda. Character and times produce great men.

Evil will lose every time to the challenge of righteous citizens. Justice, personal responsibility and individual initiative will reward American institutions creating an even stronger force for good on this planet. The American spirit of good conquering evil will prevail.

Dr. Maglio is the author of Invasion Within and Essential Parenting.  He is a psychotherapist and the owner/director of Wider Horizons School.

Visit: www.drmaglio.com.